At a roundtable event in parliament which included Anne Coffey, chair of the all-party group on runaway and missing children; Andy McCullough, policy officer at charity Railway Children; and Richard Brooks, strategy director at Ofsted, the pressures facing children on the streets were debated.
Cuts to housing, police, health, social services and specialist frontline workers are putting children at greater risk, the group said.
Brooks said: "Local authorities just do not know who is missing from education in their area. The issue of knowing where children are is fundamental to ensuring their safety."
To improve the response for young runaways the group agreed that ministerial support will be needed to increase information-sharing and partnership between the police, councils, schools and the voluntary sector.
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